Hungary appeared to undergo a successful democratic transition after the fall of European communism in 1989. But in recent years, Hungary has morphed into a kind of soft authoritarianism. Eva Balogh, Dalibor Rohac, and David Baer consider why Hungary's slide to authoritarianism has been more severe than other former communist countries of Eastern Europe, and they discuss the political opposition's prospects of restoring democracy in Hungary.

This podcast was recorded on November 29, 2021, one day before Eva Balogh's sudden and unexpected death, as part of a class at Texas Lutheran University. Eva's comments to the class are among her last public thoughts about the situation in Hungary, and they are shared with everyone in tribute to her.

Further reading

Hungarian Spectrum https://hungarianspectrum.org/

Dalibor Rohac, "Transitions, populism, and democratic decline: evidence from Hungary and the Czech Republic" European Politics and Society https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23745118.2021.1973213